Posted on 03/06/2019 11:28:34 AM PST by Coleus
The childhood friend charged with strangling Sarah Stern and then staging her death to make it appear as if she committed suicide was convicted Tuesday after a monthlong trial in Monmouth County.
Liam McAtasney, 21, of Neptune City, was found guilty on all counts — murder, robbery, desecration of human remains, conspiracy to desecrate human remains, tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension.
McAtasney looked straight ahead as the verdict was read, and his defense attorney, Carlos Diaz-Cobo, said his client was “visibly upset” but had no tears in his eyes. “There is an appeal to be had here,” the lawyer said.
After the guilty counts were read, members of Stern’s family hugged each other and cried. Detectives on the case, including lead Detective Brian Weisbrot, shook hands and hugged.
McAtasney now faces life in prison at his sentencing May 24.
The jury’s decision came one day after the panel started deliberations in Superior Court in Freehold, where prosecutors presented 25 witnesses and the defense presented just three.
“The most important thing is to get justice for Sarah,” her father, Michael Stern, told reporters outside the courthouse. “She was a great kid. It never should have ended like this. I want to thank everybody.” First Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey said the office “could not be more proud of today’s result," and she commended the work of the two assistant prosecutors on the case, Christopher Decker and Meghan Doyle.
“Their tireless pursuit of justice in this case was really awe-inspiring to us and we’re incredibly proud of their hard work,” Linskey said. “They’ve work long and hard on this case and it’s been a really long road.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
And she got death. That is not fair.
This is last week’s news. One of the news magazines (20/20, Dateline, etc.) covered it last week. My heart breaks for her dad and all he has lost. Horrific story, evil friends. Still wonder about the source of that much money.
I watched the episode on TV a couple of days ago and I still have no idea where all that money came from.
Was her mother a bank robber or something? The daughter just happens to find the money? I mean, what the hell?!
Inheritance but she only had $10K in the safe. He thought there would be more. I wonder how long it would have taken him to blow through $10K?
This story was incredibly horrible. She completely trusted him, had no idea he was a danger to her.
Big lesson: don’t tell people about your financial situation.
You leave inheritance in a shoe box and don’t bother to tell anyone about it?
and what was that crap about... it was old money, it was old money(as in the condition of it).
The show just did a horrendously bad, incomplete job of telling the story.
Right? The Mom’s sister said to keep it quite and the show never elaborated on it after. Stolen Mob Money? Bank heist?
How is death fair?
He did something to earn it.
She didn’t.
So it will never be fair.
As for me, I got woozy in a weekend jail stay where I was very safe.
I would rather die than spend a lifetime among psychotics who may look at and use me in a sexual way.
Well not the way i look now!! :)
Psychotics don’t care about you look.
Gulp!
The thing about prison is being tough isn’t enough.
I’m tough.
But a large percentage of the prison population is psychotic.
tough vs psychotic loses every time!
“...The trial was thrown into chaos after two jurors were dismissed following a Facebook comment one of them posted about sitting on the jury.”
Good God.
“You leave inheritance in a shoe box and don’t bother to tell anyone about it?”
????
No body. No fingerprints, No DNA. Basically, he was convicted on the testimony of his accomplice who took a deal for a reduced sentence.
If Taylor is lying to save himself, the prosecution has a very weak case.
Are kids his age really capable of doing something like this and not leaving forensic evidence behind?
I’m also asking myself (the way this was written), how he had enough hands to strangle the victim, stuff a shirt down her throat, hold her nose and set a timer to 30 minutes? Seems you’d have to stop doing something to do something else.
I could see this being appealed.
The key to the buried lockbox was on the convicted murderer’s key chain.
I’m in for homosexual rape and murder.
What are you in for?
Big lesson: don’t tell people about your financial situation>>>
that’s for sure, especially when you have dumb, white-trash friends...the love of money is the root of all evil.
The key to the buried lockbox was on the convicted murderer’s key chain. >>>
plus he confessed his crime to the movie producer in the car that had a hidden camera put in by the prosecutor.
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